My 40 gallon recife build

kingranch2003 · Aug 12, 2026

Red_Beard said:
Those are some fire RFAs man! That sucks on the aips and gha though, kinda takes a bit of wind out of the sails. I had gha real bad for a while too, kinda sucks. I think its just one of those things everyone has to go through (at least once).

All 3 from this latest one are growing really good, thank you for asking. Except sniper, it is really healthy looking but slooooow.
You have any more crab duals on the scolly mat? Were they more like the ufc octagon or sumo style bouts lol (i love that pic btw)

Thanks Beard! Glad to hear that the acros are growing. Make sure to come here and gloat about any victories!

The new porcelain crab has actually been chilling in the scolygon lately. Im hoping he finds his way to the rfas soon though.

kevgib67 · Aug 12, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
Not yet Kevin, but they have finally settled down. Im hoping he will soon!

They will find them. I had 3 porcelain crabs at one time each had their own rfa.

JoJosReef · Aug 12, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
If they had color, id love em. Cheapest coral ever! I've been seeing the berghia out at night. If they dont work, my tank may be cooked

I just dumped in 4 more pepps, making 4 pepps and 2 kukenthalis in the 25gal AIO. In self preservation I've convinced myself that the Aip population is starting to dwindle.

kingranch2003 · Aug 12, 2026

fishface NJ said:
I like your new rock flower anemone. I have one just like yours. I placed it in the front of the tank. It decided it prefers the back of the tank where no one can see it

Thanks Diana! That's what im worried about. My biggest one stuck to the glass and contorted between two rocks. You couldnt even tell what it was anymore

Me slowly pulling him off the glass saying, "Oh no I dont think so buddy"

kingranch2003 · Aug 12, 2026

JoJosReef said:
I just dumped in 4 more pepps, making 4 pepps and 2 kukenthalis in the 25gal AIO. In self preservation I've convinced myself that the Aip population is starting to dwindle.

Oh man I hope so. Have you seen the pepps go after any corals, JoJo?

JoJosReef · Aug 12, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
Oh man I hope so. Have you seen the pepps go after any corals, JoJo?

Corals seem fine. I'm mostly worried about the snails since they might be a bit hungry with the reduced feeding schedule...

Red_Beard · Aug 12, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
If they had color, id love em. Cheapest coral ever! I've been seeing the berghia out at night. If they dont work, my tank may be cooked

JoJosReef said:
I just dumped in 4 more pepps, making 4 pepps and 2 kukenthalis in the 25gal AIO. In self preservation I've convinced myself that the Aip population is starting to dwindle.

Aiptasia is a swearword in our house now. I did shut down a 30 gallon because of them. I mean, i was upgrading to a 75 anyways, but i tossed everything in the 30. Rock, sand, anything i couldnt frag clean had to go. I qt'd everything for a few months too before adding it to my 75. It was pretty bad...

kingranch2003 · Aug 13, 2026

Red_Beard said:
Aiptasia is a swearword in our house now. I did shut down a 30 gallon because of them. I mean, i was upgrading to a 75 anyways, but i tossed everything in the 30. Rock, sand, anything i couldnt frag clean had to go. I qt'd everything for a few months too before adding it to my 75. It was pretty bad...

You know you've got reefing figured out when even your aiptasia is beautiful !

kingranch2003 · Aug 13, 2026

Does anyone have an entry in the POTM contest?

kevgib67 · Aug 13, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
Does anyone have an entry in the POTM contest?

As far as I know just Steve, number 3 I believe.

trellemania · Sep 9, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
If they had color, id love em. Cheapest coral ever! I've been seeing the berghia out at night. If they dont work, my tank may be cooked

Hope the berghias did their thing!

Nor'easter Reefer · Oct 1, 2026

Where do I find any info on this new tank build?

kingranch2003 · Oct 1, 2026

Nor'easter Reefer said:
Where do I find any info on this new tank build?

You know Mike? That's a good question

I wonder if Im supposed to start a new thread, or bounce it onto this one. I guess you can have two build threads?

Nor'easter Reefer · Oct 1, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
You know Mike? That's a good question
I wonder if Im supposed to start a new thread, or bounce it onto this one. I guess you can have two build threads?

I mean.. I made a new one because when all is said and done... i dont want to look back

kingranch2003 · Oct 1, 2026

trellemania said:
Hope the berghias did their thing!

The berghia annihilated the aiptasia my friend! They ate it so fast, I found them all in the rear chambers of my AIO, looking for more. Then GHA took over and killed a lot of the corals that had been injured by the aiptasia infestation. So I corrected my GHA problem by:

Switching to natural saltwater, introducing new sources of beneficial bacteria
Lowering my P04 finally
And @kevgib67 sent me a sea hare

If you ever have a tank full of GHA, add a sea hare and you'll be feeding him nori in 2 weeks or less. Amazing creatures!

But even though there are less corals now, the reef is thriving and looks better than ever! I think im finally back on the right track in The Back 40

kevgib67 · Oct 1, 2026

kingranch2003 said:
The berghia annihilated the aiptasia my friend! They ate it so fast, I found them all in the rear chambers of my AIO, looking for more. Then GHA took over and killed a lot of the corals that had been injured by the aiptasia infestation. So I corrected my GHA problem by:

Switching to natural saltwater, introducing new sources of beneficial bacteria
Lowering my P04 finally
And @kevgib67 sent me a sea hare

If you ever have a tank full of GHA, add a sea hare and you'll be feeding him nori in 2 weeks or less. Amazing creatures!

But even though there are less corals now, the reef is thriving and looks better than ever! I think im finally back on the right track in The Back 40

So happy to hear John, you have an amazing tank!